惡 meaning and stroke order
Bad, evil, wicked; to hate, to loathe; foul, nauseating
How to write 惡, stroke by stroke
12 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 惡
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- evil
- fierce
- vicious
- ugly
- coarse
- to harm
- to hate
- to loathe
- ashamed
- to fear
- to slander
- used in 惡心|恶心[e3 xin1]
How 惡 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Heart.
心 gives the meaning and 亞 hints at the sound.
Radical: 心 (heart), shared by 97 characters on this site.
How to remember 惡
惡 is built from 亞 on top, which gives the sound, and 心 (xīn, heart) below, which gives the meaning. Picture a heart weighed down by something heavy on top: a bad, hateful feeling in the heart.
惡 is the traditional form of 恶. As è it means evil or vicious, and it appears in words like 罪惡 (zuì'è, evil) and 惡化 (èhuà, to worsen). Example: 病情惡化了。(Bìngqíng èhuà le.) The illness got worse.
Common mistake: Learners often read every 惡 as è, but in 可惡 (kěwù, hateful) and 厭惡 (yànwù, to loathe) it is read wù. In 惡心 (ěxin, nauseating) it is read ě.
Common words with 惡
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 罪惡 | zuì'è | crime; evil | HSK 6 |
| 可惡 | kěwù | repulsive; vile | HSK 7-9 |
| 邪惡 | xié'è | sinister; vicious | HSK 7-9 |
| 惡劣 | èliè | vile; nasty | HSK 7-9 |
| 惡意 | èyì | malice; evil intention | HSK 7-9 |
| 惡化 | èhuà | to worsen | HSK 7-9 |
| 兇惡 | xiōng'è | fierce; vicious | HSK 7-9 |
| 醜惡 | chǒu'è | ugly; repulsive | HSK 7-9 |
| 惡性 | èxìng | malignant; wicked | HSK 7-9 |
| 無惡不作 | wú'è-bùzuò | not to shrink from any crime (idiom); to commit any imaginable misdeed | HSK 7-9 |
| 惡魔 | èmó | demon; fiend | |
| 惡夢 | èmèng | nightmare | |
| 惡作劇 | èzuòjù | practical joke; prank | |
| 厭惡 | yànwù | to loathe; to hate |
Characters that contain 惡
Learning 惡 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 惡
How many strokes are in 惡?
惡 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 惡 mean?
惡 (è) means bad, evil, wicked; to hate, to loathe; foul, nauseating. A common word with it is 罪恶 (zuì'è), meaning "crime; evil".
How do you pronounce 惡?
惡 is pronounced è, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 惡?
The radical of 惡 is 心, which carries the idea of "heart". Dictionaries list 惡 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 惡?
惡 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 恶, used in mainland China and Singapore.
How do I know whether to say è, wù, or ě?
Use è when it describes something as evil or fierce, like 惡劣 (èliè). Use wù when it is a verb meaning to hate, like 可惡 (kěwù). Use ě only in 惡心 (ěxin), meaning disgusting or nauseous.
Does 惡心 mean physically sick or morally disgusting?
It can mean both. 我有點惡心 (wǒ yǒudiǎn ěxin) means I feel a bit nauseous, while 真惡心 (zhēn ěxin) can mean that something is gross or repulsive.